Mother
is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the HBO original series Veep. It originally aired on May 15, 2016. Synopsis A death in Selina's family could lead to a boost in poll numbers as Selina deals with the repercussions of the new Chinese sanctions; Dan and Amy stage a protest just as the recount in Nevada looks more and more grim for the Meyer campaign. Plot While Selina addresses a crowd at a small New Jersey wind farm, Gary gets a text that Selina’s mother is in the hospital following a stroke. Selina hardly reacts to the news as their relationship was fraught with tension and animosity. In Nevada, Karen's noncommittal babble successfully holds up vote certification proceedings. Dan and Amy observe an "electoral protest" outside, led by O’Brien staffers. They call in Richard, Jonah and Cliff to organize their own protest in support of the recount. Selina is dismayed to learn her ex-husband, Andrew, and his girlfriend Monica are at the hospital at Catherine’s request. Catherine rushes to her father and Monica, greeting them with more warmth than Selina. She refers to Monica as “Monnie,” much to Selina’s chagrin. A doctor pulls Selina aside to tell her her mother is brain-dead and will remain on life support until Selina gives her consent to “pull the plug.” Mike and Wendy, now unable to adopt a daughter from China, interview potential surrogates in the hospital cafeteria. They find their perfect candidate in Debralee, but discover she’s deeply religious and play up their religious devotion to please her. After speaking to the doctor about her mother, Selina meets with Kent who informs her they’ve seen a double-digit increase in her favorability rating in light of her dying mother. Discussing their best strategy, Kent suggests pulling the plug would net Selina an even bigger bump in ratings. Selina and Gary sit in the hospital chapel, where Gary attempts to “teach” Selina how to pray. Though she’s supposed to be seeking an answer about whether or not to prolong her mother’s life, Selina’s prayers quickly turn toward herself and for help winning the election. Unable to sit with her mother alone, Selina drags her staff into the room while the doctor removes Mee-Maw from life support. As the woman lays dying, everyone’s phones vibrate in a frenzy -- the Nevada recount will continue and the deadline push was successful. Despite having just witnessed a death, the room erupts in cheers. Catherine walks in on the merriment and believes that her grandmother’s health has improved. She’s devastated to learn she wasn’t in the room when her grandmother died. At Mee-Maw's house, Selina reveals some of her mother's cruelty to Catherine -- like how she blamed Selina for her father’s death. Mee-Maw’s lawyer, George arrives, and tells Selina the front lawn is filled with well-wishers. Selina heads outside to shake hands and play to the media. Selina’s merriment does not last long; Ben informs her the lost votes are being counted and they’re all for O’Brien as they’re mostly military absentee ballots. Selina demands they stop the recount. At the funeral, the Qatari Ambassador comes bearing a message from China for Selina: The country is open to indirect talks if Selina pulls back on her threat of economic sanctions -- everything is on the table, from climate change to human rights. Selina agrees to the deal and heads back to the service, excited. Right before Selina is to give her eulogy, Ben tells Selina Karen was unable to stop the recount and they lost Nevada. Adding insult to injury, the additional votes lost her the popular vote. Devastated, Selina heads to the podium and delivers an off-the-cuff eulogy, really a veiled reference to her losses in Nevada. After the service, George informs Selina her mother willed most of her estate to Catherine, leaving Selina out entirely. Quotes Ben: I've just been kibitzing with the Qatari ambassador, Mohammed bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Jaffar. Selina: Please don't have him sign the guest book. Ben: Yeah, he comes bringing a message from China. Selina: Why would China go through Qatar? Ben: Qataris love to insert themselves. They're wet-fingered. Selina: They're into ass play? Ben: his index finger into his mouth and then takes it out No, they have a gift for sensing prevailing political winds. Selina: I'll bet they're into ass play, too. Starring Main cast *Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer *Anna Chlumsky as Amy Brookheimer *Tony Hale as Gary Walsh *Matt Walsh as Mike McLintock *Reid Scott as Dan Egan *Timothy Simons as Jonah Ryan *Sufe Bradshaw as Sue Wilson *Kevin Dunn as Ben Cafferty *Gary Cole as Kent Davison *Sam Richardson as Richard Splett *Sarah Sutherland as Catherine Meyer *Hugh Laurie as Tom James Guest cast * Dan Bakkedahl as Roger Furlong * Martin Mull as Bob Bradley * John Slattery as Charlie Baird * David Pasquesi as Andrew Meyer * Clea DuVall as Marjorie Palmiotti * Craig Cackowski as Cliff * Lennon Parham as Wendy Keegan * Nelson Franklin as Will * Lauren Bowles as Monica Reception This episode received universal acclaim, some commentators calling it the best of the season, and particularly praising the performance of Julia-Louis Dreyfus. Kate Kulzick of The A.V. Club gave the episode an A, saying "'Mother' gives a touch of humanity to Selina without sanding down any of her edges and in doing so, highlights the versatility of Veep and its tremendous cast." Trivia -This episode was watched by 0.97 million people. -The original title of this episode was "Mee-Maw", but was changed to "Mother" after a Transparent episode that aired shortly after production was titled "Mee-Maw". Julia Louis-Dreyfus has said that she liked "Mother" better anyway. -Filmed November 2015. Timeline The obituary in Kissing Your Sister says Catherine Calvert Eaton died on November 16th, and the funeral was held on November 19th. However, this would not make sense, as The Eagle ended on November 17th. In order for the timeline to make sense, Catherine Calvert Eaton would've had to have died on '''November 18th, '''Selina reverses her stance on the recount on '''November 19th, '''and the funeral was held on '''November 20th. '''This would also make sense as the title card in Kissing Your Sister said the funeral was in fact held on November 20, 2016. Gallery 5x04_0003.jpg 504-6.jpg veep-season-4-episode-4-reid-scott-anna-chlumsky.jpeg 504-5.jpg 5x04_0000.jpg 504-11.jpg julia-louis-dreyfus.jpg 3333cq5dam.jpeg 504-9.jpg Behind the Scenes 02-29-2016(2).jpeg Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.31.44 PM.png Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.31.53 PM.png Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.32.01 PM.png Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.32.16 PM.png Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.31.17 PM.png CjVTNa0VAAEkaAa.jpg-large.jpeg CUOmeWoUAAE9E1n.jpg-large.jpeg 02-29-2016.jpeg Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.31.06 PM.png Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.31.32 PM.png 11-23-2015.jpeg Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.33.10 PM.png CUhLVv2UAAASZ17.jpg-large.jpeg Screen Shot 2017-10-08 at 10.33.30 PM.png